Let’s Dial the Way-Back machine to September 18^th, 2007.  Alberta’s Royalty review was released for all to see and read.  The contents of the report indicated that we as Albertans’ were getting a raw deal on the Royalties being extracted by the various private energy companies that had taken up residence in Alberta’s Tar Sands.  See the whole document here. (Catch a critique of the Royalty Review here)  This is from page 7 of the Executive Summary.

“Albertans do not receive their fair share from energy development. The royalty rates and formulas have not kept pace with changes in the resource base and world energy markets. Albertans’ own the resource. The onus is on their government to re-balance the royalty and tax system so that a fair share is collected. This must be done within an equitable and flexible administrative framework that maintains Alberta’s competitive edge for energy investment.

The total government take (Alberta and Canada, taxes and royalties) can be increased with Alberta still remaining an attractive investment destination. The Alberta Royalty Review Panel recommends that the total take for the energy sector be increased by sector, as shown in this table.”

Current Sharing Recommended Sharing

Okay, nothing unreasonable going on here.  Consider Norway or even Alaska for successful royalty planning.   Comparatively speaking, Robert Sheppard in his Reality Check article says: “Norway’s technique seems to be to throw virtually everything it gets from offshore oil into the fund and to try to live off the cream. Alberta’s has been to live off its royalties and, if there’s any cream left over, toss some of it into the fund.”

The Results?

In 2004 the Alberta Heritage Trust Fund stood at 12.4 billion.

In 2004 Norway’s Petroleum Fund was valued at 133 billion.

Way to go Alberta Tories.  Squandering our money seems to be the mission possible of the day or more succinctly,  preserving the profits of the heroic oil companies that rape our land.  Of course when we hear it from our rightist lapdog media in Alberta, the Royalty Review is virtually proposing the absolute destruction of the energy industry forever and ever.  Which of course, is utter horsepucky, but not particularly surprising considering how politically addled we are as a province.   But really, I needed to tell you about this story tell you about this one.

Alberta Health Services CEO and president Stephen Duckett speaks to reporters Wednesday in Edmonton. (CBC)

Alberta will move hundreds of hospital patients to newly created community-based spaces over the next three years, the provincial health authority confirmed Wednesday.

Alberta Health Services told union representatives on Tuesday that 350 hospital beds in Calgary and Edmonton will be closed and patients moved to 775 community-based spaces.

The province has now confirmed the breakdown of bed closures in the two cities — 160 in Edmonton and 190 in Calgary. Of those beds, 20 in Edmonton and 40 in Calgary will be kept open this year to help with what officials called “emergency room pressures.”

The government also revealed that 246 beds will be closed at Alberta Hospital over the next three years. {…}

Do you think possibly that maybe if we had decided to actually get a reasonable amount of return for the resources we have in Alberta would we have to be closing acute care beds?  If the Alberta Government did not actually have the the Oil Patches procreating member lodged firmly in its posterior we might be able to pay for the necessary Health Care of the citizens of Alberta.

So what does the enraged populace of Alberta do??  Do we march on the parliament buildings to protect our healthcare?  Do we write our MP’s angry letters? Do we say to ourselves maybe we should elect a viable opposition to the government?  HELL NO!! We elect Paul Hinman of the Wild Fraking Rose Party of Alberta in a by-election to show our displeasure.  The Wild Rose Party is batshite-crazy further to the right than the current Alberta Tories.  Make sure you check out their platform; or more succinctly,  imagine every wrongheaded neo-liberal fascist clusterfrack policy debacle… their platform gives a wild-eyed thumbs up to them all.

The crazy is strong here today, and I am not liking it.